Spinning
by MarySueH8tr
Summary: When Summer gets to high school, she thinks things will be great. When things turn out differently, and her band deserts her, she is left with nothing. It there anything left that could help her? Anyone?
1. Summer's End

Summer Hathaway should have been in her glory. All summer long, she had felt rather useless and lethargic, but now school was starting. School was definitely her forte. Nothing else gave her that rush of happiness she felt when she raised her hand and answered the question correctly. Not that she was ever incorrect, of course. Making a fool of yourself was much worse than feigning ignorance at a question. The other kids might have called her a teacher's pet (overstatement of the century), but it was a title she was proud of.  
  
This year, the start of ninth grade, and her first year in high school, was different for Summer. Over the past few years, she had been the manager of a "class" band, The School of Rock. It had been started by a "false" substitute teacher named Dewey Finn, and since then, it had snowballed into a successful New York City garage band. The School of Rock had become the most important thing in the world to Summer. She would have never made it through vacation without the thought of the first fun band sessions that would begin to meet as soon as school started. Her parents were a little worried about her lack of enthusiasm about her summer homework, which normally was the highlight of her day. Now, however, Summer spent her days figuring out how to better her band. That was how she thought of it. Her band. Whispering that, even if only to herself, gave her a sense of power, accomplishment and triumph that no correct answer could have ever given to her.  
  
On the first day of school, Summer woke up at 5:30 in the morning just to make sure she had enough time to get ready. She brushed her thick, dark hair and practiced smiling in the mirror. Perfect. In her closet, she had already neatly hung the clothes she had planned to wear that morning; a dark blouse, white pants and a navy-knit scarf her friend Marta had made for her in the sixth grade. After getting dressed, she went over to her mahogany vanity and carefully opened her jewelry box. Being ever so gentle, she drew out a pair of matching butterfly hair clips, a silver necklace and a silver bracelet with her last name engraved on it.  
  
Summer loved that bracelet. It had been a gift from her late Uncle Ben, a gorgeous joke. When she was younger, she had loved her last name. Hathaway. It sounded so... romantic and timeless. In fact, for a week, she had insisted that no one in her family could call her by anything but her last name. Her parents, unused to such eccentric behavior from their driven daughter, had called her Uncle in a panic. Fortunately, Ben had three children, all girls, of his own and he knew how to handle it. The next day, he drove over to her house, gave her the bracelet and explained that such a beautiful name must not be spoken allowed like a common word. Instead, it must be treasured forever in silence.  
  
Summer had allowed people to call her by her first name from then on. It had been five years since then, but Summer still wore the bracelet, amazed to find that every time she put it on, it still fit. It must have been her thin wrists that accounted for it. Smiling at herself once more in the mirror, she walked out of her room, closing her door behind her. She was ready for her first day of high school. High school, however, wasn't entirely ready for her. 


	2. Fall Frost

High school wasn't quite ready for her.  
  
"Bye, Mom!" Summer shouted, grabbing her gray-green shoulder bag out from under the kitchen table. She ran out the front door, slamming it back into its wooden work frame as she did so.  
  
Stopping for a second on the brick steps, she took a deep breath and gazed around at her mother's beautiful gardens. They were colored every shade of the rainbow; red and purple, yellow and blue. In the coming October frosts, they would all wilt, but, for now at least, they were here for people to enjoy.  
  
Suddenly, Summer heard the low hum of the school bus. Although she couldn't see it yet, she knew from long experience that it would come down the hill in front of her house. Trying her hardest not to be late, she threw herself down the steps and ran to the end of her driveway. Just as she reached the mailbox, the bus came steamrolling over the hill. As it stopped, she heard the protestation of the old, worn breaks and, when the door opened, she heard the familiar hydraulic sighs of the use-tired machinery. Summer smiled to herself. She loved those sounds.  
  
Grinning cheerfully at the bus driver, she pulled herself up the steep steps with the help of a silver hand rail. When she reached the aisle she stopped and stared at the cold faces on the bus. It seemed the frosts had come early this year. Summer wilted. 


	3. Breaking Betrayls

There was no one to sit with. None of her friends. Not even anyone she knew.  
  
This was bad.  
  
Summer walked slowly up the aisle, her hands balled into fists and clutched tightly at her sides.  
  
'Just breathe," she commanded herself as she bit her lip between her teeth. As the skin twisted under the pressure, she had to remind herself not to bite too hard. If she started to bleed, they would think that she was even weirder.  
  
Summer was running out of time. She was halfway up the aisle and she still had nowhere to sit. Pretty soon the bus driver would start yelling at her. She winced. Summer couldn't stand yelling.  
  
The faces around her were stony silent, disapproving. The kids took in her hair and her clothes, and then threw it right back at her face, contempt welling up into their eyes and spilling over into her path as she stepped forward timidly, cautiously. They were just kids. There was no reason to be afraid. But she was. Summer was terrified.  
  
Just as she was about to give up, she spotted an open seat near the back of the bus. Sighing with relief, she hurried forward to it and sat down, glancing quickly at the person across from her.  
  
Doing a quick double-take, Summer looked up again. It was Freddy. Her feelings of relief increased. Finally, someone she knew. She smiled gratefully at him, settling her bag into the seat next to her.  
  
Freddy didn't smile back. He glanced nervously at the other guys sitting around him; Summer suspected that they were his friends from the neighboring towns. He looked the longest at one in particular, a raven hair boy with short-spiked hair tipped in violent green. The guy glanced back at Summer, the look in his eyes clearly spelling out, "Intruder." Then he shook his head quickly, his earrings flipping back and fourth warily.  
  
Freddy cleared his throat. Summer's heart sunk all the way to her feet and she looked down.  
  
"You can't sit here," he said. Summer continued to stare quietly at her shoes. The black-haired boy, seeing Summer's defiance, reiterated the command.  
  
"Are you deaf? You. Can't. Sit. Here." he laughed, grabbing her bag and tipping the contents of it into the aisle.  
  
Summer bit her lip once more, then got down on her hands and knees and started to pick up her books. One of her pencils rolled in front of Freddy's foot. He started to pick it up, but a warning glance from a nearby boy stopped him. Instead, he kicked it out of her reach.  
  
Summer glanced up at Freddy, quiet anger storming over her face. She wanted to scream, to hit him, to make him sorry. Instead, she just snatched the pencil off of the floor and sat back up, dragging her knees up onto the seat and staring straight ahead.  
  
What's wrong with him?  
  
What's wrong with...me? 


	4. Anything Left?

Summer waited until all of the other kids had gotten off the bus before she even lifted her head up. She walked quickly down the deserted aisle and stepped dazedly off of the bus. How had everything gotten to be such a nightmare?  
  
Standing at the front entrance to the school, Summer glanced warily at the crowds of kids entering the building. No one here looked friendly, either.  
  
She walked up to the large, glass doors and stopped, her heart beating wildly.  
  
'I can't do this,' she thought. Turning quickly to leave, to run, she found herself swept up in a tide of people, forcing her to turn back around and go into the school.  
  
Once she was inside, the force of people didn't let up. Summer was pushed and shoved back and fourth, jostled by complete strangers.  
  
Again and again she righted herself, trying her best not to trip and fall, but she was a small girl and there was no escaping it. She fell against a locker, her bag falling to the ground beside her. Summer slid the rest of the way down the wall until she was sitting.  
  
She knew that she looked strange, but anything was better that being herded like a sheep through the hallways.  
  
Just then, Summer spotted a familiar face. A girl with flippy black hair, brown eyes and guitar buttons dripping from leather backpack. Katie.  
  
Relief coursed through Summer. Finally, someone she was friends with. She wouldn't be scared if she had someone to go through this torture with.  
  
"Katie!" she called, trying to stand up so the girl could see her. Summer's ankle buckled under her and she found herself on the floor again. Katie turned around, her eyes scanning the crowd quickly for the person who had called her name. After only a few moments of searching, she found Summer, scrunched at the bottom of the wall and looking absolutely terrified.  
  
She walked toward Summer hesitantly. Summer held her hand out to Katie.  
  
"I'm so glad that I..." Summer began, her voice trailing off into nothingness as Katie looked coldly at her hand. "Katie?"  
  
Katie glanced back from the direction in which she had come. There were several girls standing there, watching the two of them like hawks. Katie turned back to Summer and swallowed, hard.  
  
"Katie?" Summer asked again, softer. "Can you please help me?" she whispered, already knowing what the answer would be. Katie gave the tiniest shake of her head, turned on her heel and walked away, not looking back once.  
  
Katie. Her best friend.  
  
'I have no one' 


	5. Shattered

Summer felt like she was going to be sick. Her entire world seemed to be spinning around her, faster and faster. The blue metal of the lockers began to blur and the voices of the students, the falling of their footsteps, drew farther and farther away, leaving Summer with nothing but empty echoes.  
  
How could this be real?  
  
Everything that had seemed so perfect this morning in the mirror had shattered, leaving Summer crushed into shards of treacherous glass.  
  
What had she done to deserve this?  
  
Freddy. She'd had a crush on him since before she could remember, and, although they weren't really close, never before had he showed her such contempt, such disregard for her feelings. And Katie. Katie had been her best friend since preschool, the little girl she had eaten glue with. Alright, the little girl she had watched eat glue, but still! Now, they had deserted her.  
  
If things kept continuing like this, she would lose the band.  
  
Her band.  
  
Clutching her head between her knees, Summer buried her face in her skirt to muffle her sobs. By now, most of the kids had filtered into their classrooms. Only a few people were left in the halls.  
  
After a few minutes, she raised her head slowly. Tear stains cut dark trails across her pale skin.  
  
She had no one left. No one...  
  
"Summer?" The voice came from above her.  
  
Startled, she glanced up and gasped. Flinching, she flattened herself against the wall, the knuckles of both fists pressed into the cool stone.  
  
She looked up at the figure, terrified.  
  
"You, too?" she murmured, bracing herself for the next onslaught.  
  
I'm so lost, I'm barely here  
  
I wish I could explain myself  
  
But words escape me  
  
It's too late, to save me  
  
You're too late, to save me  
  
You're too late, You're too late  
  
You're cold with disappointment  
  
While I'm drowning in the next room  
  
The last contagious victim  
  
Of this plague between us  
  
I'm sick with apprehension  
  
I'm crippled with exhaustion  
  
And I dread the moment  
  
When you finally come to kill me 


	6. Saviour?

A/N: Alright! It has been brought to my attention by the ever-watchful Wyverna, that I haven't been thanking all my reviewers. (Mine, mine, mine. You cannot have them!)  
  
So, here it goes!  
  
Wyverna: Thanks again for the hint. I've been trying to get at least one chapter a day written, and I know they're short, but... blame it on the Algebra homework and the GC fanfics crazy cousin and go with it!  
  
Mally-Maya: I totally agree with you! She's getting her just desserts! (I won't make her evil in every fic though. That would be cruel. I'll just do it in most of them!)  
  
Saxaphonebaby: Don't worry, things *might* get better for Summer.  
  
The CheezHead: I'll update as often as I can!  
  
Obsessive Puffin: Thanks for the tips about the spacing. They really came in handy! (I love that phrase!) heehee  
  
NOW FOR THE REAL STORY...  
  
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Zach was unsure of what to think. Summer was the strongest girl he  
knew, but there she was, crumpled in the corner. Crying. He had never  
seen Summer cry before. Hell, he hadn't known she could cry.  
  
He honestly didn't know what to do. This kind of thing was way beyond him. Most teenage guys would turn the other way and run when confronted with a crying girl. But Zach was different. He knew that Summer had always been there for the band, and for him. And now, for some reason, she was hurting. His conscience wouldn't let him turn away.  
  
Steeling himself for her anger, Zach walked up next to her. The first time he opened his mouth, nothing really came out. He wasn't used to dealing with this sort of thing.  
  
'Just turn around and pretend you didn't see her,' he said to himself.  
  
"Summer?" He felt his mouth form the words before he could make himself stop. 'Stupid, Zach, bad! No cookies for you!'  
  
She turned up to look at him, her breathing panicky, reminding him of a wild rabbit. Upon seeing him, she whimpered and pressed herself into the space between the wall and the lockers.  
  
Forget it. This had gone way beyond strange. Summer's behavior was bordering on psychotic. Just as he was about to open his mouth, he saw her jaw tighten.  
  
"You, too?" she murmured, tears filling her eyes. Zach was panicking. What could have happened to her? What could have been horrible enough to make her freak like this? This was just high school. Earth-shattering stuff just did not happen in high school.  
  
"Are you OK?" he asked nervously, running his hands through his shaggy brown hair.  
  
Covering her mouth with one hand, she shook her head softly. This was also completely unlike her. Summer never missed the chance to answer a question with the full use of her extensive vocabulary. Putting a hand on the wall to steady himself, he crouched down next to her. Her gaze darted everywhere; the wall, her hands, the ground, her bag. Everywhere but him.  
  
"Summer?" He reached out to touch her shoulder. Her body went rigid and she pressed her small frame against the wall again, trying to get as far away from him as possible. Zach hastily drew his hand back, wondering what had made him try in the first place. He wasn't exactly a touchy-feely guy. Just as he was wondering what to do next, he glanced at Summer's face. Her eyes held a sorrowful, crazed expression. He had never seen ANYONE looked like that before.  
  
"Summer, what the hell?!" Zach grabbed her face between his hands and turned her head towards him.  
  
She bit her lip and looked down at the floor again.  
  
"Do you hate me too?" she whispered, a look of painful resignation on her tearstained face. 


	7. False Hope

Saxaphonebaby- Summer is being slightly odd, but she does have her reasons! I'm sorry it's been taking me so long to update, but my cousin was over for the week and she had me write her an excruciatingly long Good Charlotte fic. Painful, but lovely, as it seems. Don't worry, though! I'm back to SOR completely for the time being.  
  
Princess642- I know! It took me all the restraint I had not to use that as the beginning of this chapter. But that really would have stolen my thunder. We're actually probably looking at a 30 chapter fic here, so I can't romanticize until later. 6 Reviews! I love you!  
  
Wyverna- Summer is a little nut. I hate school. I spent the entire day writing my new fic, High K over Middle L. It helps a little. I uploaded this chapter in the middle of Science class. Ahh... sweet vindication.  
  
The Cheezhead- It isn't a dream. I'll update as much as I can, but I need to try and make the chapters a little longer. I've been getting scolded for their puny length!  
  
LightningFairy- Hopefully I'll be able to update this more! ABC!  
  
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Summer watched Zach with apprehension, her mind still clouded with nightmarish events of that morning.  
  
"Hate you?" he asked, his already dark-brown eyes deepening to endless black. "Summer, what are you talking about? Why would I hate you?"  
  
He was confused. Summer could see that. But she was confused too. If Freddy and Katie were abandoning her, why wasn't he doing the same?  
  
"Zach, all of them, all my friends, all of you guys, they..." here her voice broke. After taking a few deep breaths, Summer plunged ahead, telling Zach everything that had happened since she had woken up that morning.  
  
After she was done, Zach sat in stunned silence. High school had taken life-long friendships and obliterated them, right in front of his eyes. He had heard about stuff like this, but it hadn't seemed real to him, to any of them.  
  
"I thought... I thought we were all friends," Summer half-sobbed, her voice choked to nothing more than a whisper. "Why did they do this? Why did they do this to me and not to each other? Or to you?"  
  
Zach looked at her. Not one hair was out of place. Her clothes were well pressed, neat and about as preppy as preppy could get. She looked like a librarian.  
  
The rest of the kids in the band... well, they just didn't dress like that. They dressed... uniquely. They weren't punk and they weren't Goth or ghetto, they just all had their own style. And now, in High School, they had new friends that went along with that style.  
  
And as for why it had been her. Summer was different. She wasn't exactly part of the band. She was its manager, which gave her an almost teacher like status. Because she didn't play, the others must have though that it made her less of a part of the group than they were.  
  
Zach opened his mouth, trying to think of a way to tell her all of this gently. "Summer..." his voice faded away as he looked into her face. She already knew.  
  
"I know I'm not like the rest of you. I know I'm... a little different. But this band still means more to me than anything ever has in my entire life. And for them to do that..."  
  
Zach knew what she meant. "It's wrong." He though for a second. "Maybe if you just talk to them."  
  
Summer gave Zach a falsely cheerful smile. 'It won't help,' she thought. 'It won't help and we both know it.'  
  
"I'll talk to them," she said, faking happiness so Zach would leave her alone. Summer cleared her throat and wiped the back of her hands against her cheeks, hurriedly drying her tears. She began to get up, using the wall as support so her ankle wouldn't buckle under her again.  
  
Zach put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to pause. "Summer..." he began. Damn this was awkward. "You have me." She flashed him a genuine smile.  
  
"That was SO corny, Zach," she laughed. Zach had to laugh too. It had been kinda corny. He rose to his feet, tired leg muscles creaking in protest. Offering Summer a hand, he pulled her to her feet.  
  
"Thanks," she said, tucking her long hair behind her ears and hiking her bag back onto her shoulder. "I can take it from here."  
  
Zach gave a mocking bow, pretending to take off an imaginary hat . "Glad to be of service." Summer giggled once more, then spun on her heel and walked quickly away towards her first class. Once she had turned the corner however, her smile faded.  
  
She had Zach, but she wanted the rest of her band back too. They were her friends and they meant more to her than anything else in the world. Was she willing to sacrifice who she was, who she had always been, to gain their approval back? 


	8. Authors Note

Wow, guys.

Saying it's been a long time since I've written would be a severe understatement. I don't think I've so much as THOUGHT about fanfiction for the past 8 months. But this morning, I was looking through my old emails and I realized that I'd gotten a new review…

Even thought my story was buried in over 400 backlogged days of other fics.

And for some reason… it inspired me to write again.

But please, review and tell me if you think that new chapters to each of my stories:

Spinning

Let Me Out

Wishes, huh?

High K Above Middle L

Missing

If you wanna read on… just let me know.

Thanks guys,

Meg


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